I'm on vacation. Today. Officially. Unlike the Italians or French who take a month long national holiday every summer I'm doing things the American way. taking a week off and I'm going to Vegas, baby! That means gorging myself on $19 buffets. Giant cocktails by the pool. Overpriced versions of off broadway shows.
Before I go there's a few things to lay on the table. Stuff to get off my chest. Yeah, more ranting. And some props.
First off, Sue George gives mad props where props are due to a guy who put the pros on the ropes this year. A working stiff, who punches the clock 40+ hours per week. Christian Tanguy ripped up the pros this year in the NUE Series. He beat almost all of them. At the finish line of the Shenandoah 100 Bishop put it all on the line to beat Tanguy by only 20 seconds. But who was sprinting? Tanguy thought there was 2 miles of trail left! Christian is a down to earth French expat who now lives in Michigan. No pro ride, but the real deal.
"Christian is the revelation of the NUE series this year. His fitness is world class," said fellow competitor and Shenandoah Mountain 100 winner Jeremiah Bishop (MonaVie / Cannondale). "He's opening some eyes for sure."
The 34-year-old Tanguy placed second at the Mohican 100 and the Lumberjack 100 races earlier this season. In August, he finished second at the Wilderness 101 and he won the Fool's Gold 100. Last weekend, he was second at the Shenandoah Mountain 100.
This weekend is race number two of the Midwest Triple Crown, Chequamegon. How does Simonster train for such a race? By Motopacing! Mike Simonson has won The Iceman AND Ore To Shore. But Chequamegon has eluded him. Will this be the year?
While Tanguy is moving up in the world and Simonster is riding his Superfly behind a subcompact hatchback on a gravel road somewhere, the fight against Sport Class Women racers continues.
Why do they always start the sport women before the beginner men? There is always this big, race-deciding log jam in the single track section. It sucks for the guys to be stuck in "traffic", and it just HAS to suck for the ladies to be getting passed all the time.
Yeah, why do they start faster people before slower people? Oh wait. Here's a tip, dude. If you race beginner and the Sport people in front of you are in your way, it means you're not supposed to be racing beginner. It makes for good comedy, though. There's nothing funnier than an internet fight between sandbaggers over trail etiquette.
It could be worse. Instead of being a sandbagging tool who is edging his way into a healthy sport with a cool subculture, the guy could be a right wing closet racist who can't stomach the fact that an articulate black man is the president.
